Counseling Sessions
by MissMelysse
Summary: Three times Deanna Troi actually gets to be a mental health professional. Takes place between chapters 11 and 12 of CRUSH II: Ostinato, so is technically Data/OFC, but he's not really in it. One-shot.


**Disclaimer:** ** _Star Trek: the Next Generation, the_** **U.S.S. Enterprise** ** _, and all the canon characters belong to CBS/Paramount. The rest is mine._**

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 **Counseling Sessions**

 **(** _This story takes place between chapters 11 and 12 of_ _ **CRUSH II: Ostinato.)**_

 **Stardate 44810.42**

 **(Tuesday, 24 October 2367, 19:21 hours, ship's time)**

"Well, _that_ went well."

Deanna took a beat to center herself before she said, "It actually didn't go as badly as you think, sir. The fact that Zoe was crying means she's released some of the tension and frustration she's been feeling the past few days. It's a very normal reaction, even to good news. And she is getting the support she needs."

"From Mr. Data?" his tone was skeptical. "I know we all attribute more emotion to him than he claims to possess, but…can he really provide support to a…"

"…young woman?" she offered helpfully, then waited for his acknowledging grunt. "Data and Zoe have a very close, very special friendship. I don't think she's ever felt as though he wasn't enough of a support system. Certainly, she was very comfortable with him after the incident at Starbase Twelve."

"So I recall." He was silent for several seconds. "I wasn't expecting him to kiss her in my ready room."

"Nor was I," she admitted. In fact, it had surprised her more than she cared to admit, but what had surprised her more was that both the young woman and the android had been completely unselfconscious about it. "It wasn't an improper gesture. It was affectionate, yes, but not at all romantic."

"So, I don't need to be concerned that her mother will be bursting in here to file a report about my second officer's relationship with her child?"

"Captain, I assure you, Zoe may be young, but at sixteen she's no child. She's quite accustomed to the company of adults. Ordinarily, I'd advise you to get to know her, but since that's unlikely –"

"Less unlikely now that I've seen her connection to Mr. Data for myself –"

" _Since that's unlikely_ ," she repeated, "I'd suggest you read her file. Ask Data if he'd be willing to share some of their correspondence from this past summer, providing Zoe doesn't object, of course."

"Do I need to worry about them – about this 'close friendship'?"

"No," she said with certainty. She sensed that he was concerned, not just about the young woman who had been crying in his ready room a few moments before, but also about his officer – his _friend_. "No," she repeated. "You don't. Despite the fact that we often treat him otherwise, Data is an adult, and is aware that boundaries and limits must be set. As well, Zoe's mother is aware of their relationship, and has sanctioned it."

"Sanctioned?"

"They've been having weekly video nights for several weeks now." She favored him with a grin calculated to elicit at least a smile in response. "I'm told one of their early selections was _Casablanca_."

He did smile back at her, but the expression slid off his face as he was struck by a thought. "Do we really treat Data as less than an adult?"

"We do," she said. "It's a response to his guilelessness, as much as anything else," she explained. "But I believe it's important to remember that he's been continuously active for nearly thirty standard years now, and even if his emotions – and I do believe he does have android emotions, if not human ones - are incredibly subtle, he still learns from everything he experiences, and adapts to what he's learned."

"He insists that he has no emotions at all," the captain mused. "And yet, how often have we seen him act with care, concern, even compassion?"

She didn't answer the obviously rhetorical question. Instead, she led the older man down a different path. "Do you remember what Data was like when you first took command of the _Enterprise_?" she asked. "He laughed with us –" she both saw and felt the look Picard gave her. "- oh, it was 'canned' laughter, and he freely admitted he only did it when it was expected of him. But…he was also more animated, less…even-keeled."

Picard was silent for a stretch of seconds that nearly reached a minute, and she could sense that he was, in fact, making a conscious effort to recall how their android companion had once been. Finally, the man asked, his own voice soft. "What changed?"

"The better question, sir, would be 'why did he change?'"

"Why did he?"

She opened her mouth to answer him, but the comm-system cut her off, Will Riker's voice issued from the speaker. "Captain we're ready to launch photon torpedoes."

"I'll be right there, Number One," he answered the comm. Rising, he adjusted his uniform jacket, and she smiled at the familiar maneuver. He pinned her with the kind of gaze that typically meant he was committing to an action. "We will continue this another time, Counselor."

"Yes, sir," she agreed gently. She was certain they would.

Deanna took another beat, casting out with her empathic senses, and receiving mostly interest and anticipation about the upcoming photon torpedo test, as well as the hope that their guest's - _Timicin's_ \- theories would be correct and he could save his planet. She nodded to herself, and followed the captain onto the bridge.

 **(=A=)**

 **Stardate 44833.84**

 **(Wednesday, 1 November 2367, 08:30 ship's time)**

"Counselor Troi?" The voice of Deanna's first patient of the morning greeted her tentatively from the doorway. "I had a message to report here."

The counselor took a moment to do a quick check of the other officer's emotional state: nervous, guilty, a little bit angry, all supported by a strong sense of resolve. In other words, the woman in the doorway was feeling pretty much the way Troi expected she would. "Lieutenant D'Sora – _Jenna_ – come in. Have a seat."

The blonde woman entered Troi's office and perched on the edge of one of the chairs facing into the room. She was in uniform, her long hair twisted into a braid. "I'm…I'm not sure why I'm here," she said. "I had my mandatory post-mission sessions with Counselor Billings."

"I know," Troi said. "I read his report, as well as the mission logs. Meeting with the head of counselling is standard procedure whenever anyone files a document such as yours." She hesitated, then added, "As well, Commander Data asked me to speak with you."

" _Data_ did?" Jenna radiated confusion and irritation, and something more.

"That surprises you." It wasn't a question.

"Honestly? A little. The last time we spoke his little 'girlfriend' was yelling at me in the corridor, and he instructed me to return to quarters, and said I could file a grievance."

Troi nodded. "I'm sure that was unpleasant for all of you. However, the document you filed isn't a grievance, it's a request for transfer. Did the incident last night affect you that greatly?"

D'Sora shook her head. "Not really. In the moment I was angry and hurt, especially because the things that girl – Zoe - said were truer than she knew – but, I would have yelled at me, too, in her position."

"Her position?"

"Her mother was badly injured on an away mission. The security officer on the mission – me – wasn't. And I was leaving her mother's quarters when we…ran into each other. I'm not sure I would have caused a scene in the middle of a corridor, let alone in front of an officer, but I probably would have yelled."

Troi took several seconds to watch Jenna before she responded. "Zoe is usually fairly even-tempered, in public. I'm sure she regrets what happened and what was said."

"I'm not so sure of that."

"Could you explain?"

"I've never been exactly…friendly…with Zoe. The first time we met, Data invited me to join their music lesson without telling her, and it didn't go well. She was obviously upset that I was there, and I was irritated that Data expected me to treat a child as someone who could teach me."

"When was this?" Troi asked. She hadn't known about any previous tension.

"Maybe a year ago. When Data and I were…dating."

"Were the two of you able to work together?"

Jenna's tone implied a grudging truce. "Eventually. She really is very talented, isn't she?"

"Who? Zoe?"

"Yes."

"She is," the counselor agreed. "But we're here to talk about you. What happened after that?"

"Data invited her to come to our concert a few days later – she was with T'rella Mairaj's son – and she came up and apologized to me for being rude."

"And did you accept her apology?"

"Yes, but I remember thinking that as the adult, it should have come from me."

"I see. Did you and Zoe see each other after that?"

"If you mean, 'did Data ask me to join their music lessons?' then, no. Actually…I ended it with him shortly after, and I realized I wasn't cut out for performing soon after that. I still play...just not in public."

"Why did you end your relationship with Data?" She had, of course, heard her friend's side of things, but she wanted Jenna's perspective now.

D'Sora turned her gaze upward, apparently searching for words. "It…we…we weren't working. We'd always had a warm working relationship. We socialized occasionally. We were in the wind ensemble. But as a couple…there was no connection. I felt like I could never really _matter_ to him."

"Did he tell you otherwise?"

"No, he didn't. He just agreed with my assessment that I tended to start relationships with emotionally unavailable men and told me he would 'delete the appropriate subroutine.'"

Inwardly, Troi winced on behalf of the woman sitting across from her. "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you."

"It seems to be working out for her – for Zoe."

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"I've run into Data and Zoe – together – twice now, and…there's a connection between them that's almost…you'd have to be blind and deaf not to see it. He's changed over the last year. Not a lot. Not in obvious ways. But…there's a little more warmth to him now. A little more depth."

Troi kept her voice gentle, and asked, "Has he changed enough that you've considered asking him to try again?"

"Considered, yes."

"But…"

"But then I see him with Zoe. I've heard the rumors about them – everyone has – and I don't really believe he'd allow anything…"

"Improper?"

"Exactly."

"No, he wouldn't."

"And I can't help but wonder if we didn't work because of me rather than because of him."

"What do you mean?" Troi wasn't certain Jenna's relationship with Data was entirely relevant to her transfer request, but she wasn't sure it was entirely unrelated either. Best to hash it out here, in private.

"Maybe I expected too much of him. Maybe I was too needy, or too controlling, or too..." She shook her head. "You know what's ridiculous? I'm nearly thirty and I feel like I'm in competition with a teenager for the affection of a man who can't even feel affection. And worse? The teenager is winning! It's absurd."

Troi didn't bother disabusing Jenna of the idea that Data was incapable of affection. She's spent enough hours with him, on the bridge, on away missions, to believe otherwise. Instead, very carefully, she asked, "Jenna, is it possible that your renewed consideration of Data as a possible romantic partner is _because_ of his friendship with Zoe?"

Jenna didn't exactly recoil physically, but Troi sensed her pulling back inside herself. She was silent for several seconds before she allowed. "It's…possible."

"Alright. Is it also possible that the real reason you and he didn't work out as a couple had little to do with how either of you behaved, and more to do with the fact that you're just not meant to be together in that way?"

"You're saying I didn't expect too much of him." Jenna's voice and face telegraphed the revelation she was experiencing. "You're saying…we didn't work because we didn't connect as lovers, even though we were friends. I've been blaming him for being himself, and feeling guilty for wanting more than he could give."

"And now?"

She let out a soft chuckle. "I feel like a dim room was brought to full illumination."

"Alright. Now, let's talk about Maarklin. I don't want to rehash your mission, I just want to ask: are you requesting a transfer because you feel you didn't perform adequately on that away mission?"

When Jenna answered, "No," Troi believed her. "I felt guilty at first, but when I spoke with Emily – Commander Harris – yesterday, she said she didn't blame me. After all, we made sure – _I_ made sure – none of the civilians were injured. And despite the incident and the injuries we did secure permission for further exploration of the Maarklin dig."

"Is there another reason for transferring, then? Most people would do almost anything to be assigned _to_ the _Enterprise_."

D'Sora's answer was given in a thoughtful tone. "I was lucky to pull _Enterprise_ as my first posting out of the Academy. I was the oldest member of my class, and sometimes I felt as though it took me longer to grasp things. When I chose to specialize in security systems, everyone thought I was crazy, but it felt right. It still does. But being on this ship…even when you're just a junior officer, there's a lot of attention. I've always wondered if people with less prestigious assignments are more successful, or are given different opportunities."

She paused, and Troi said, "That's an interesting perspective. Go on?"

"The senior officers here aren't going anywhere. They're not complacent, but they're content, I think. It means for people who aren't department heads, there's really no avenue for advancement."

"People like you?"

"Yes. People like me. The security chief on the _Exeter_ was a year ahead of me at the Academy. We worked together on training exercises, and we get along really well. He's been asking me to consider a move for a while, and it's only now, having survived Maarklin, that I feel I'm ready."

"Even though your people were injured?"

" _Because_ of it. We had injuries, yes, but no casualties, and we completed our mission directive. I'd probably handle the same situation differently, but I know now I _can_ handle it."

Troi was quiet for a long moment, casting her empathic senses outward, taking stock, pulling back. Then she favored Jenna with her warmest smile, "I know you can handle it, too," she said. "I'm recommending that your transfer request be approved."

"Thank you, Counselor," the security officer said. "Does that mean I'm done here?"

"Almost…"

"Almost?"

"I'm curious. Why _didn't_ you file a grievance against Zoe?"

Jenna D'Sora's eyes softened. "I know what it's like to be with someone who can't love you back – I don't mean Data, this time. Whether or not their connection is real, that girl – that young woman – Zoe. Zoe is going to need all the support she can find. I've heard other rumors about her – that she had a stalker, or something – that she was assaulted – I know you can't confirm any of it…"

"No, I can't."

"She almost lost her mother last week. A grievance would only add to whatever else she's dealing with. Besides…I'm pretty sure Data only mentioned it as an object lesson. I doubt he really wants her written up for anything. I saw her face when he raised his voice to her."

Troi nodded, but before she could speak again an alert signal buzzed on the tricorder attached to Jenna's waist. "I have a section meeting I'd like not to be late for," the security officer said. "If we're finished?"

"We are," Troi said. She rose from her chair, and Jenna did the same. "I wish you the best of luck in your future, Lieutenant. The _Exeter_ will be lucky to have you."

 **(=A=)**

 **Stardate 44834.38**

 **(Wednesday, 1 November 2367, 13:11 hours, ship's time)**

Deanna Troi wasn't at all surprised that it was Zoe who greeted her at the door to the Harris family quarters. After all, Emily Harris had been in the middle of a shift when the counselor had called her to check in. She'd wanted to make sure the officer was feeling better before asking after the woman's daughter.

She also wasn't surprised when Zoe's face reflected the disappointment she was feeling. "If you're here to see my mother, she's in Science Lab II, I think."

"Actually," the counselor said, widening her smile into a cheery grin, "I'm here to see you. May I come in?"

"Sure." The girl moved out of the doorway. "If you're here to yell at me, you're a bit late. I already got yelled at by Data – in public – and chewed out by my mother."

"Data yelled at you?" Deanna moved through the room, saw that Zoe's cello was out of its case and lying on its side, and settled herself on the sofa. "Come sit with me."

The girl gave her a look that clearly expressed confusion and annoyance, but she walked over to the other end of the sofa and dropped into it, angling herself into the corner. "'Yell' might be a little bit of an exaggeration," Zoe allowed. "But he did raise his voice." She looked away, then looked back. "I'd never seen him in full-on officer mode before. I mean…I've seen him pilot a shuttle, and in a meeting, but…he was so 'in charge.'" She blushed, then asked, "Is it wrong that at the same time I wanted to sink into the floor, I thought it was kind of hot?"

It took a fair amount of control for Troi not to giggle at that. As it was, her half-swallowed chuckle nearly betrayed her. "Not at all," she said. "Attraction works in mysterious ways. Did you deserve the reprimand Data gave you?"

"How did you know he repri – oh." Again Zoe turned her gaze away from Deanna's. "Yeah, I kind of did. Even when I was yelling at Jenna - Lieutenant D'Sora – there was this part of me that was sort of watching in horror, telling me to stop." She paused and her voice got smaller when she said, " _He_ said my mouth would get me into trouble."

Troi had expected embarrassment. She had expected regret, remorse, and even sullen moodiness. Nothing prepared her for the combination of rage and raw fear that blasted at her when she asked, "He, who? Who said that about you, Zoe?"

Zoe's brown eyes fixed on Deanna's face, her pupils huge despite the relatively bright lighting in the room. "Lore. Lore said it. I thought…I haven't had a nightmare in over a week, and I'm even actually sleeping now. And then I said those horrible things to Jenna, and he…just for a second…when Data got all...I saw how much the same they could be."

"Could be, but aren't," Troi assured. "Zoe, the fear you're feeling right now…you're not afraid of Data are you? Is that why you skipped his class today?"

The younger – much younger - woman shook her head. "No. Wait, he told you I didn't go to his class?"

"He was concerned that his reprimand may have 'adversely affected our friendship and implied that Zoe was no longer welcome in my presence,'" she quoted. "He wanted me to assure you that the latter, at least, isn't true."

Inexplicably, Zoe started to laugh.

"Zoe?"

"Did he happen to tell you exactly what he said to me?"

"He said that he told you that you were out of line."

"No, aside from that."

"Ah, no. It was a rushed conversation. We were in a turbo-lift, and he was en route to the bridge."

"He instructed me to remain in my quarters 'until otherwise notified.'" Zoe's impression of their android friend, Deanna noted, was dead-on. "I skipped class because I haven't been 'otherwise notified' and I wanted to make a point." She paused. "And also because he was right, and I did go too far, and I was too embarrassed to face him without being pissy about it."

Deanna nodded. "I suspect he assumed you would ignore that part of his instruction." She reached out with her empathic senses. The fear was still there – the young woman was projecting other emotions over it – but it wasn't gone. Very gently, she asked. "If it's not Data you're afraid of, Zoe, who is it? I can feel it – you're trying hard not to let it show."

"Who is it ever? Who were we originally talking about? Lore. Lore, and Lore, and always Lore. He's always there, in my head, taunting me. In my dreams. If I enter a room and the lights are off, I think I see his shadow, and when I get messages on the comm or on my padd I'm always half-afraid they'll be from him. It's weird though. I can spend hours with Data, and I never see them as similar. To me, they don't even look alike because Lore's malice shows in every expression."

"Most people aren't so astute."

" _Most_ people haven't felt the differences in their touch, or in their kisses."

"Kisses?" Deanna arched a brow. She only knew of one actual kiss between Data and Zoe. Two if you counted the one in the captain's ready room. "I didn't realize you and Data were friends who kiss now."

The look she received from her young companion was pointed. "Not _kisses-_ kisses," she said. " _That_ was just the once. But…I kiss him on the cheek sometimes, and he kisses the top of my head, and then…Friday night…or was it Saturday morning…whatever…in his quarters. I fell asleep and asked him for a goodnight kiss when he moved me to his bed…and this sounds way dirtier than it was. There was…it wasn't…he wouldn't. Oh, god." Zoe burst into tears.

Troi pulled the crying girl into a comforting embrace. "Easy," she said. "It's alright. You're alright. I didn't realize how terrified you still are, and I should have, but the rest…" She stopped talking and just projected calming thoughts. She wasn't entirely certain Zoe was anything more than slightly sensitive, but it couldn't hurt. She would speak to Data about the details of their physical affection. Sometimes, she reflected even as she continued her efforts to soothe Zoe, the android's impassiveness was incredibly useful.

"I'm sorry," Zoe said after her sobs finally subsided, minutes later. "I'm so sorry. I'm trying so hard to act like nothing happened, and just be who people want to see…"

"No one wants you to live with that amount of fear, Zoe. No one."

"Sometimes I just crack."

"I know."

"And Jenna was just _there_."

"I know. And Jenna does, too."

"Data doesn't."

"Don't be so certain of that," Troi said. She understood, now, why he'd sent the security officer to talk to her, instead of merely asking her to review the junior officer's file.

"What do I do? Do I track Jenna down and grovel? Do I apologize to Data?"

Troi considered all the possible options. "First," she said, "you go wash your face and change, so you can come to lunch with me in Ten-Forward. I want you to take the rest of the day off from classes – I'll clear it with your mother and your teachers," she interrupted herself, answering the unasked question. "I will leave you to figure out how to resolve things with Data on your own after you've had time to think things through. Tonight, perhaps, or tomorrow. As to Jenna…you should know that she chose _not_ to file a grievance against you, so an apology would not be amiss, but don't do so if you don't mean it."

"But I _am_ sorry. I mean, I'm not sorry for being angry…but I'm sorry for how I treated her."

"That's reasonable," Troi agreed. "Give it a day or so, and then send her a note."

"I can do that."

"I know you can. Now, go freshen up." Deanna watched as Zoe left the sofa and started for her bedroom, but when she paused, the counselor asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Data still hasn't said I could leave."

The counselor grinned and tapped her comm-badge. "Troi to Lt. Commander Data."

 _\- Data here_

"Data, I'm with Zoe in her quarters. I've invited her to lunch, but she's insisting that she can't leave until you release her restriction."

 _\- I neglected to inform her that she could leave._ Anyone who knew him well would detect the slight hint of surprise in his statement. _My oversight was unintentional. Please inform Zoe that she may resume her usual activities, and that I will see her at rehearsal tonight. Data out._

Deanna let her grin soften to a bemused smile. "Alright, then?" she asked. Zoe's answering smile was all she needed. They still had a lot of work to do - more than she'd realized – and at some point they would have to determine why - and how – the young woman had blocked her fear so thoroughly, but, Deanna knew, counseling sessions were a far better price to pay than any number of things that _could_ have happened.

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 **Notes:** This takes place between chapters 11 and (unwritten at the time of posting) 12 of **Crush II: Ostinato**. I wanted to address the reason we never see Jenna again, and sending her off to the _Exeter_ isn't official in anyone's head but mine. The _Exeter_ was involved in the Dominion War and took heavy casualties. This was mentioned in an episode of **Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.** Maarklin isn't a real planet; it's actually a brand of toy trains, and I named a planet after it (Such power, I have!).

AS A REMINDER: In the CRUSH-VERSE the Data/Jenna romance happened in what would have been season 3, not at the end of season 4.

Thanks to Moonlady for mentioning that she was interested in Picard's POV of the scene in his ready room, and acmac for the observation that command-mode Data is kind of hot. (I confess: I agree.) Red: I can't answer every comment you make because you don't have an account, and those of us who DO have accounts can only leave one comment per chapter while logged in, but your notes are ALWAYS appreciated.

And, yes, Chapter 12 is in progress, and thank you ALL for your continued readership.


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